Automated Combined Display of Measurement Data

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method, system, and computer-readable medium for automatically generating a combined display of measurement data representing a combined measurement, such as a multiphase parameter, includes establishing, by a mobile computing device, communication connections with a plurality of measurement devices configured to generate measurement data. The mobile computing device receives the measurement data generated by the plurality of measurement devices, and in response to information indicative of the measurement data representing related parts of a combined measurement, the mobile computing device automatically groups the measurement data received from the measurement devices and automatically displays the grouped measurement data in a combined display that shares at least one axis of measurement. In at least one embodiment, the combined measurement is a multiphase parameter, such as a three-phase electrical parameter, and the combined display is a graph in which the measurement data shares at least one axis of measurement, such as time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/801,380, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/876,719, filed Sep. 11, 2013, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Measurement tools such as digital multimeter (DMM) devices, heat-sensinginfrared cameras, vibration meters, and the like are used in a widearray of industrial, commercial, and residential settings to measure avariety of properties of equipment. In production facilities, plants,and factories, for example, it is critical to ensure that equipmentremains operational. Interruptions in production for unexpected failureof equipment can be costly. Such facilities typically establishprocedures for routine monitoring and maintenance of equipment thatinclude using measurement tools.

For example, a technician using a handheld measurement tool may betasked to periodically measure a property of equipment to assess thefunctional “health” of the equipment or to determine the presence of afault. To perform such measurements, the technician travels to the siteof the equipment, manually records data from the measurement tool, andreturns to a central location to produce a report. Unfortunately, thetechnician may need to return multiple times to the site of theequipment to obtain the desired data. Further, analysis of measured dataobtained from the equipment often requires the technician to manuallyenter the measured data into a computer.

In some instances, an equipment maintenance process includes obtainingreadings of measurement data from multiple measurement tools atdifferent locations, and sometimes includes obtaining measurementssimultaneously or in close time proximity. Furthermore, complexcalculations may be desired to be quickly performed on measured dataobtained at the different locations, even when using measurement toolswith limited or no functionality for storing or processing measurementsover time. What is desired are systems and methods that allow guidanceand coordination to be provided with respect to collecting measurementsusing measurement tools, and that allow measurement data to beefficiently collected and processed.

SUMMARY

The following summary is provided to introduce a selection of conceptsin a simplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for automaticallygenerating a combined display of measurement data is provided. A mobilecomputing device establishes communication connections with a pluralityof measurement devices configured to generate measurement data. Themobile computing device receives measurement data generated by theplurality of measurement devices and, in response to informationindicative of the measurement data representing related parts of acombined measurement, the mobile computing device automatically groupsthe measurement data received from the plurality of measurement devicesand automatically displays the grouped measurement data in a combineddisplay of the measurement data that shares at least one axis ofmeasurement. For example, the combined measurement may be a multiphaseparameter in which the related parts are the individual phases of theparameter. The measurement data received from each measurement devicemay represent a phase of the multiphase parameter.

According to further aspects, the multiphase parameter may be anelectrical parameter having at least three component phases. Thecombined display may include three component phases of a three-phasevoltage, current, or power parameter, and wherein the at least one axisof measurement represents time.

According to further aspects, the information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurementmay include time information indicating a proximity of time when themeasurement data was generated by the plurality of measurement devices.The time information may indicate that the measurement data wasgenerated by the measurement devices during an overlapping timeinterval.

According to further aspects, the information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurementmay include location information indicating a proximity of locationwhere the measurement data was generated by the plurality of measurementdevices. The location information may indicate that the measurement datawas generated by the measurement devices at an equipment test point.

According to further aspects, the combined display of the measurementdata may share at least two axes of measurement. The combined displaymay be a graph of the measurement data, and the measurement datareceived from the plurality of measurement devices may be superimposedin the graph using the at least two axes of measurement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates, at a high level, anexemplary embodiment of a system according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary mobile computingdevice according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of ameasurement device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of ameasurement processing server according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of amethod of collecting and annotating test measurements using a mobilecomputing device according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary method of processingmeasurement data for multiple units of equipment to generate a unifieddata collection and reporting interface according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary method forautomatically generating a combined display of measurement datarepresenting a combined measurement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, disclosed herein are systems and methods forcapturing, storing, analyzing, and reporting data obtained frommeasurement devices, such as handheld measurement tools and othersensors that perform measurements of equipment. Such systems and methodsare useful, in part, for improving the speed, accuracy, and ease of useof measurement data collected from measurement devices, especially wherethe measurement data results from multiple simultaneous or nearsimultaneous measurements of different types of data.

As will be better understood from the following description, the term“measurement data” refers to data that is generated by a measurementdevice and directly or indirectly relates to or reflects a measuredproperty of a device under test. In various embodiments, measurementdevices may measure many types of properties, such as electrical and/ormechanical properties. Properties that may be measured by measurementdevices include, for example and without limitation, electrical current,voltage, resistance, capacitance, inductance, vibration, humidity,pressure, light, time, temperature, sound, material composition, and thelike.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram that illustrates, at a high level, anexemplary embodiment of a system according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 100includes a mobile computing device 104. The mobile computing device 104is configured to interact with at least one measurement device 108positioned with respect to equipment to be measured, such as theillustrated device under test (DUT) 92.

In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 may be a generalpurpose mobile computing device, such as a smart phone that providescellular telephony, cellular data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and/or other typesof wireless connectivity, which is further programmed to providefunctions as described herein. An application (or “app”) executing onthe mobile computing device 104 may provide processes for datacollection, storage, analysis, and communication as described herein. Auser interface 106 is presented by the mobile computing device 104,which allows a user to view data that is collected and analyzed by thecomputing device 104, and to control the collection, processing,storage, and transmission thereof as discussed further below.

In various embodiments, the measurement device 108 may be, for example,a measurement tool such as a DMM, a Wi-Fi network tester, a vibrationtester, an infrared or thermal imaging camera, and/or the like that iscapable of measuring a property of a DUT 92 and providing measurementdata based thereon. Generally, measurement devices 108 may be handheldor portable, and may include any type of testing or sensing device ormultipurpose device capable of performing a measurement or a combinationof types of measurements. Measurement devices 108 may also includesingle purpose or multi-purpose sensors that are capable of measuringproperties of equipment.

In various embodiments, data communication between measurement devices108 and the mobile computing device 104 may be wireless or wired, andmay use any type of standardized or proprietary communication protocol.Current standardized protocols for wired communication include, forexample, USB, Firewire, Ethernet, and the like, while wireless datacommunication may be performed using ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellulardata transmission protocols, and the like. The communication may be adirect communication between the measurement device 108 and the mobilecomputing device 104, or may take place over a network with one or moreintervening network devices providing a communication path. In someembodiments, at least some of the processing described herein as beingperformed by the mobile computing device 104 could be performed by themeasurement processing server 102. In such embodiments, the measurementdevice 108 may be configurable to communicate directly with themeasurement processing server 102 via a wireless or wired communicationpath, and may use any type of standardized or proprietary communicationprotocol, including but not limited to the illustrated network 90.

In an environment where multiple measurement devices 108 are used tomeasure different properties of equipment, the mobile computing device104 may be configured to choose measurement devices 108 with which tocommunicatively interact to receive measurement data, as well asanalyze, display, and further communicate the measurement data to one ormore locations remote from the equipment and/or the mobile computingdevice 104.

In at least one implementation, a user may establish communication linksbetween the mobile computing device 104 and one or more measurementdevices 108 that are positioned with respect to one or more DUTs 92. Aseach communication link is established, measurement data generated bythe respective measurement devices 108 may automatically be communicatedto the mobile computing device 104. When measurement data is no longerreceived from a measurement device 108, e.g., the measurement device 108drops out of range of the mobile computing device 104, the mobilecomputing device 104 discontinues or releases the communication link. Aswill be discussed in greater detail below, measurement data previouslyreceived from the measurement device 108 may be stored by the mobilecomputing device 104 in association with the measurement device 108and/or the test point (or points) being measured on the equipment, butupon discontinuing or releasing the communication link, the mobilecomputing device 104 no longer displays live data measurements from themeasurement device 108 nor indicates an active communication link withthe measurement device 108.

When the user no longer desires to receive measurement data from aparticular measurement device 108, the user may cause the mobilecomputing device 104 to disconnect or release the communication linkwith the measurement device 108. Subsequently, the measurement device108 may return to a low power operational mode in which the measurementdevice 108 periodically communicates a presence detect signal, aspreviously described. If desired, the measurement device 108 may beconfigured to locally store measurement data in a data store present onthe measurement device 108, which later may be read by a mobilecomputing device 104 upon establishing a new communication link with themeasurement device 108.

In some wireless environments, the mobile computing device 104 may bepaired with a measurement device 108 in order to receive measurementdata from the measurement device 108. Pairing adds a layer of securityover such communication between the measurement device 108 and themobile computing device 104 in that establishing a communication linkwith the measurement device 108 may utilize additional data that istypically accessible only to persons or devices authorized to engage insuch communication.

As measurement data is received, the mobile computing device 104 maydisplay the measurement data to the user via the user interface 106. Insome embodiments, the displayed measurement data representsinstantaneous measurements received from the measurement devices 108.When storage of the measurement data is desired, the user may initiatecollection of the measurement data, such as by pressing a “Capture” or“Record” button on the user interface 106. For example, in at least oneimplementation, pressing a “Capture” button on the user interface 106may cause the mobile computing device 104 to save a single set of themeasurement data obtained at an instance of time. On the other hand, bypressing a “Record” button, the user may initiate a recording ofmultiple sets of the measurement data in which the mobile computingdevice 104 saves a time series of the measurement data received from themeasurement device 108. If desired, such recordings may be presented tothe user as a data graph or an image video on the display of the mobilecomputing device 104.

In some embodiments, the data obtained by the mobile computing device104 may further include status or safety information regarding themeasurement device 108 (as opposed to the DUT 92). For instance, if thestatus of the measurement device 108 justifies display of a warninglight on the measurement device 108, information regarding that statusmay be transmitted to the mobile computing device 104 and acorresponding icon may be displayed on the mobile computing device 104noting the condition of the measurement device 108. Some nonlimitingexamples of a status that would justify the display of a warning lightinclude a low battery status, an out-of-range indicator, a leadindicator, and the like. This may be particularly helpful to a userwhose mobile computing device 104 is connected to multiple measurementdevices 108. Such icon display helps the user to recognize when one ormore of the measurement devices 108 need attention to ensure thatcorrect measurement data is being obtained.

In some embodiments, data may also be conveyed between a measurementdevice 108 and the mobile computing device 104 using techniques otherthan via a communication protocol as described above. As a nonlimitingexample, in some embodiments, data may be exchanged between themeasurement device 108 and the mobile computing device 104 throughtransfer of physical media, such as a memory card that is transferredbetween memory slots in the measurement device 108 and the mobilecomputing device 104. As another nonlimiting example, in someembodiments, data may be displayed by the measurement device 108 in ahuman-readable format (such as via an analog instrument meter withanalog display, or via a LCD or other indicator that presents a digitalvalue) and the mobile computing device 104 may obtain the measurementdata by capturing and processing an image of the measurement device 108.In yet another nonlimiting example, in some embodiments, data may bedisplayed by the measurement device 108, and a user may manually enterthe data into the mobile computing device 104 via the user interface106.

While in some embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 is the devicein the system 100 responsible for obtaining, processing, and storingmeasurement data from measurement devices 108, in other embodiments, themobile computing device 104 may also or instead communicate themeasurement data to one or more measurement processing servers 102,which may be located at one or more local or remote locations. Suchcommunication may be performed through a network 90 such as a wired orwireless network, and may involve local, wide area, or global datacommunication links, such as the Internet. In some embodiments, suchcommunication may be performed by syncing the mobile computing device104 to another computing device (such as a desktop computing device, alaptop computing device, a tablet computing device, and/or the like) viaa dock, a physical communication cable, a wireless communicationtechnology, or a network, and the other computing device may then act asthe measurement processing server 102. In some embodiments, the othercomputing device may receive the data from the mobile computing device104 and then subsequently transmit the data to the measurementprocessing server 102 via the network 90. In some embodiments, themobile computing device 104 may obtain, process, and store themeasurement data locally while unable to access the network 90, such aswhen there is no access to a cellular data network due to a lack ofwireless signal strength at a measurement location. The mobile computingdevice 104 may then transmit the measurement data to one or moremeasurement processing servers 102 as discussed above upon beingreconnected to a network 90 or otherwise communicatively coupled toanother computing device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary mobile computingdevice 104 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Asillustrated, the mobile computing device 104 may include a processor211, at least one communication interface 224, at least one data storagedevice 217, and at least one input/output (I/O) interface 222, amongother elements. As used herein, the term processor is not limited tointegrated circuitry otherwise referred to as a computer, but broadlyrefers to a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a microprocessor, aprogrammable logic controller, an application specific integratedcircuit, other programmable circuits, combinations of the above, and/orthe like. The processor 211 generally serves as a computational centerof the mobile computing device 104 by supporting the execution ofinstructions that cause the device to receive, store, analyze, andcommunicate data using the communication interface 224, the storagedevice 217, and/or the input/output interface 222.

The communication interface 224 may include one or more componentsconfigured to communicate with external devices, such as another mobilecomputing device, a computer system at a remote location, a measurementdevice 108, and/or the like. All such communication may be wired orwireless. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 mayprocess measurement data into different forms and communicate theprocessed measurement data to such external devices. In someembodiments, the measurement data is organized and stored by the mobilecomputing device 104 in the storage device 217. The stored measurementdata may later be retrieved, analyzed, and communicated.

The storage device 217 may comprise any form of computer-readablestorage media, such as any currently available or later developed mediasuitable for storing computer-executable instructions and data that areaccessible to one or more device components, such as the processor 211.Computer-readable storage media may be removable or nonremovable and maybe volatile or nonvolatile. Examples of computer-readable storage mediamay include hard drives as well as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash types ofmemory, and/or the like.

The input/output interface 222 may include one or more input devicessuch as dials, switches, or buttons, and one or more output devices,such as a display or printer. Generally, the input/output interface 222allows a user or an external system to interact with programs beingexecuted by the mobile computing device 104. In at least one embodiment,the input/output interface 222 allows a user to control or configure themobile computing device 104 to receive data from a measurement device108 and to analyze, store, and/or communicate the measurement data to anexternal device. Information regarding the configuration of measurementdevices and the equipment properties that they measure may be stored inthe storage device 217 and used by the processor 212 when interactingwith the measurement devices 108.

As an output device, a display may include, without limitation, a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) device, an organiclight emitting diode (OLED) device, and/or the like. The display may becapable of displaying color images, though embodiments disclosed hereinalso work with black and white displays. The display may include a touchscreen that, in some embodiments, incorporates aspects of an inputdevice into the display. The touch screen may be any type of touchscreen currently known or later developed. For example, the touch screenmay be a capacitive, infrared, resistive, or surface acoustic wave (SAW)device. In response to input received by the input device, the mobilecomputing device 104 may receive, analyze, store, and communicate datarelated to measurement of properties of equipment. In some measurementapplications, the touch screen may be suitable for use in industrialsettings, for example, where the touch screen is configured to receiveinputs through gloved hands.

In addition to a touch screen or other display, the input/outputinterface 222 of the mobile computing device 104 may further include oneor more input devices that communicate an input to the mobile computingdevice 104. As mentioned earlier, such input device may include, asexamples, buttons, switches, trigger switches, selectors, rotaryswitches, or other input devices known to those of ordinary skill in theart. In at least one embodiment, measurement devices may be configuredto perform measurements in response to user input or user selection ofan input that is provided to the mobile computing device 104 via the oneor more input devices.

As illustrated, the processor 211 may be configured to provide one ormore engines. In general, the term “engine,” as used herein, refers tologic embodied in hardware or software instructions, which can bewritten in a programming language, such as C, C++, COBOL, JAVA™, PHP,Perl, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, VBScript, ASPX, Objective C, Ruby,Microsoft .NET™ languages such as C#, and/or the like. An engine may becompiled into executable programs or written in interpreted programminglanguages. Software engines or applications may be callable from otherengines or from themselves. Generally, the engines described hereinrefer to logical modules that can be merged with other engines orapplications, or can be divided into sub-engines. The engines can bestored in any type of computer-readable medium or computer storagedevice, such as the storage device 217, and be stored on and executed byone or more general purpose processors (such as processor 211), thuscreating a special purpose computing device configured to provide theengine. In some embodiments, the engines described herein may beincorporated into one or more applications or “apps” installed on themobile computing device 104. The illustrated engines may be provided bythe processor 211 in response to execution by the processor ofcomputer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium,such as the storage device 217.

As illustrated, the engines provided by the processor 211 may include auser interface engine 212, a measurement collection engine 214, and ameasurement processing engine 216. The measurement collection engine 214is configured to interact with one or more measurement devices 108 viathe communication interface 224. The measurement collection engine 214may instruct the measurement devices 108 to obtain measurement data, andmay receive measurement data from the measurement devices 108. Themeasurement collection engine 214 may also store the receivedmeasurement data in the measurement data store 220. Additionally, themeasurement collection engine 214 may receive warning status informationfrom the measurement devices 108, and may cause the user interfaceengine 212 to present corresponding icons and/or notifications. Themeasurement processing engine 216 may perform processing overmeasurements stored in the measurement data store 220, or may processmeasurements obtained by the measurement collection engine 214 beforestorage in the measurement data store 220. For example, the measurementprocessing engine 216 may group measurements with other relatedmeasurements, may assign metadata to a received measurement, and/orperform other processing on the measurements as described elsewhereherein. As will be described below, the metadata includes groupidentifying information that associates the stored measurement data withother data annotated with similar group identifying information.

The user interface engine 212 is configured to generate a user interfacefor presentation to a user via the input/output interface 222 of themobile computing device 104. The user interface generated by the userinterface engine 212 may allow the user to configure the measurementcollection engine 214 to communicate with various measurement devices108, and may allow the user to configure the measurement devices 108 tocapture measurements per the user's input. The user interface generatedby the user interface engine 212 may allow the user to instruct themeasurement collection engine 214 to store a given measurement or a timeseries of measurements, may allow the user to observe currently obtainedmeasurements, and may allow the user to browse and/or compare previouslycollected and stored measurements.

In some embodiments, the interface provided by the user interface engine212 may also provide guidance to the user for assisting in collectingmeasurements. For example, in some embodiments, the user interfaceengine 212 may be configured to present a task list to the userrepresenting a set of measurements to be obtained. In some embodiments,the user interface engine 212 may be configured to present a map to theuser in order to guide the user to a location at which measurements areto be obtained, to assist the user in identifying equipment from whichmeasurements have been obtained, and/or to assist the user in locatingtest points to be monitored on the equipment.

As illustrated, the storage device 217 may include a work order datastore 215, a facility data store 218, a measurement data store 220, andan equipment data store 221. The measurement data store 220 may beconfigured to store measurements received by the mobile computing device104, and also may be configured to store metadata associated with saidmeasurements. The facility data store 218 may be configured to storeinformation about a facility, such as floor plans, equipment locations,identifiers of installed equipment, test points on the equipment, and/orthe like. The equipment data store 221 may be configured to storeinformation about equipment that has been monitored (or is intended tobe monitored in the future) using the system 100. For example, in someembodiments the equipment data store 221 may store informationassociated with units of equipment such as location information, modelinformation, make information, equipment identifiers, photos, and testpoints. The work order data store 215 may be configured to store workorder information that helps guide a user through a series ofmeasurements to be completed. In some embodiments, the work order datastore 215 may also be configured to store progress information alongwith a given work order to indicate which tasks within the work orderhave been completed and which are yet to be performed.

As understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, a “data store” asdescribed herein may be any suitable device, or a data structure on acomputer-readable medium, configured to store data for access by acomputing device. One example of a data store is data stored in anorganized manner on a storage medium such as storage device 217. Anotherexample of a data store (which may be more relevant to the data storesprovided by the measurement processing server 102 described furtherbelow) is a highly reliable, high-speed relational database managementsystem (DBMS) executing on one or more computing devices and accessibleover a high-speed packet switched network. Yet another example of a datastore is a non-relational network-based storage system, such as theAmazon S3 store provided by Amazon.com, Inc., Google Cloud Storageprovided by Google, Inc., a distributed hash table (DHT), and/or thelike. However, any other suitable storage technique and/or devicecapable of quickly and reliably providing the stored data in response toqueries may be used to provide a data store, and the computing devicemay be accessible locally instead of over a network, or may beaccessible over some other type of suitable network or provided as acloud-based service. For example, though the data stores in FIG. 2 areillustrated as being present on the storage device 217 of the mobilecomputing device 104, in some embodiments, the data stores may not beresident on the mobile computing device 104 but may instead be remotelyaccessible by the mobile computing device 104. One of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that separate data stores described herein may becombined into a single data store, and/or a single data store describedherein may be separated into multiple data stores, without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of ameasurement device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated, the measurement device 108 includes one ormore sensors 330, and optionally includes a machine interface 324, ahuman-readable interface 326, and a measurement data store 328.

The sensors 330 are devices associated with the measurement device 108that collect information regarding properties of a device under test,and convert the information to a useable form. For example, a voltagesensor may sense a voltage across two test leads applied to the deviceunder test, and may output a value indicating the sensed voltage for useby other components of the measurement device 108. Likewise, atemperature sensor may detect a temperature of a portion of the deviceunder test, and may output a value indicating the temperature. In someembodiments, the sensors 330 may be integrated into a single case alongwith the rest of the components of the measurement device 108. In someembodiments, one or more of the sensors 330 may be located external froma case containing other components of the measurement device 108, andmay communicate to the measurement device 108 using any suitabletechnique.

In some embodiments, the measurement device 108 may include one or moresensors 330 that are placed on or near test points of the equipment tobe measured. Such sensors 330 may be temporarily affixed to theequipment or to structures near the equipment. Alternatively or inaddition, the sensors 330 may be incorporated into test devices that auser can relocate from one test point to another on the equipment asneeded.

In some embodiments, the measurement device 108 may be a handheldmeasurement tool. A handheld measurement tool is generally configured tobe held in a user's hand while measuring a property of equipment.However, it should be appreciated that a handheld measurement tool neednot always be held in a user's hand and may be positioned by a user awayfrom the user's hand, for example, by affixing or hanging the tool froma support or placing the tool on or near a test point on the equipmentto be measured. In some embodiments, the measurement device 108 is adevice other than a handheld measurement tool. For example, themeasurement device 108 may be, for example, a portable measurement toolthat is not necessarily intended to be used while held in the hand.While not permanently connected to the equipment being measured, suchportable tools are useful for measuring properties of the equipment overdays or weeks, as desired.

In some instances, the measurement device 108 may log measurements ofequipment properties over time, and may store the measurements in themeasurement data store 328. Later, the mobile computing device 104 mayobtain the measurements stored in the measurement data store 328. Insome embodiments, the stored measurements may be obtained by the mobilecomputing device 104 via the machine interface 324, if the machineinterface 324 is available, or via the human-readable interface 326, ifthe human-readable interface 326 is available and provides access to thestored measurements.

In some embodiments, the measurement data store 328 may be omitted. Insuch embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 may collectmeasurements from the sensors 330 via the machine interface 324 or thehuman-readable interface 326 as they are obtained by the sensors 330.The mobile computing device 104 may then provide storage functionalityby storing the measurements in the measurement data store 220, thusallowing historical measurements to be collected, analyzed, andpresented even when the measurement device 108 does not itself include ameasurement data store 328. When desired, the mobile computing device104 may display one or more graphs showing the measurement data asreceived over time, even from the measurement devices 108 that do notinclude the measurement data store 328.

The machine interface 324 may be any suitable machine-readableinterface, such as a wireless communication interface or a wiredcommunication interface as discussed above. In some embodiments, themachine interface 324 may be used to obtain measurements from thesensors 330 in real time or substantially in real time as measurementsare obtained by the sensors 330, with or without the measurements beingstored in the measurement data store 328. In some instances, themeasurement device 108 may also include a human-readable interface 326.The human-readable interface 326 may display values obtained by thesensors 330 to the user in real time or substantially real time, and mayprovide access to stored past measurements in the measurement data store328. The human-readable interface 326 may include a video display, a LCDdisplay, an analog display, an indicator light, or any other suitabledisplay. In some embodiments, similar information may be obtained viathe machine interface 324 and the human-readable interface 326, while insome embodiments, different information may be obtained via the twointerfaces.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of ameasurement processing server 102 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. As illustrated, the measurement processing server102 may be configured to provide a facility data store 404, ameasurement data store 406, an equipment data store 408, and a workorder data store 409. The facility data store 404, the measurement datastore 406, and the work order data store 409 may be configured to storeinformation similar to that stored by the facility data store 218, themeasurement data store 220, and the work order data store 215,respectively, discussed above with respect to FIG. 2. However, in someembodiments, the data stores present on the measurement processingserver 102 may receive and store data collected by more than one mobilecomputing device 104, or provided by multiple management computingdevices for distribution to mobile computing devices 104. This may beuseful for many purposes, including but not limited to comparingmeasurements taken of similar equipment at different locations anddifferent times, centralized distribution of task lists and equipmentinformation, and the like.

The equipment data store 408 may be configured to store informationabout equipment of particular makes, models, and/or the like. Forexample, for a given piece of equipment, the equipment data store 408may store maintenance guidelines, user manuals, standard specifications,normal operating parameters, testing instructions, and/or the like. Thisinformation may be provided to a mobile computing device 104 to assistin performing measurements. The facility data store 404 may includeunique identifiers used to identify particular installations ofequipment at a facility, and may refer to information stored in theequipment data store 408 to provide further description of theequipment.

One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the illustration ofcomponents as being present on the measurement processing server 102 isexemplary only, and that in some embodiments, components of measurementprocessing server 102 may instead be located on the mobile computingdevice 104, or split between the measurement processing server 102 andthe mobile computing device 104.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of amethod 500 of collecting and annotating test measurements using a mobilecomputing device 104, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. From a start block, the method 500 proceeds to acontinuation terminal (“terminal A”), and from terminal A to block 502,where a mobile computing device 104 guides a technician to a measurementlocation. Generally, a measurement location is a location at which amobile computing device 104 can communicate with a measurement device108 configured to measure properties of a device under test. In someembodiments, the measurement location may be in close proximity to thedevice under test, such that a handheld or other portable measurementdevice 108 may be placed in contact with the device under test orotherwise obtain measurement data from the device under test. In someembodiments, the measurement location may be in proximity to a networkvia which the mobile computing device 104 may communicate with ameasurement device 108 configured to measure properties of a deviceunder test at a different location. In some embodiments, the mobilecomputing device 104 may guide the technician to the measurementlocation by presenting a map, floor plan, or travel directions to thetechnician. In some embodiments, it may be assumed that the technicianknows the location of the device under test, and the mobile computingdevice 104 may guide the technician to the measurement location bypresenting a task list and an indication of the device to be tested.

Next, at block 504, one or more measurement devices 108 are positionedwith respect to a device under test (DUT) 92, as illustrated in FIG. 1.For example, a sensor of the measurement device 108 may be placed inphysical or electrical contact with the DUT 92 to detect a property suchas vibration, voltage, resistance, and/or the like. As another example,a sensor of the measurement device 108 capable of sensing propertieswithout being in physical contact with the DUT 92, such as a clampmeter, an infrared camera, and/or the like, may be positioned to sense aproperty of the DUT 92. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat, in some embodiments, the actions described in blocks 502 and 504may be swapped in order, such as in embodiments where the measurementdevices are left in position for monitoring the DUT 92 even betweencollections of measurements using a mobile computing device 104.

At block 506, the mobile computing device 104 establishes communicationlinks with one or more selected measurement devices 108. Thecommunication links may include transmission of data via a communicationprotocol or by any other technique discussed above or otherwise known toone of ordinary skill in the art. In some cases, the measurement devices108 may initially operate in a mode in which the measurement devices 108periodically communicate a signal indicating their presence, which themobile computing device 104 can detect. The user may be required toinitiate an input, such as press a button, on the measurement devices108 or otherwise cause the measurement devices 108 to commencecommunicating such a presence detect signal. In any event, upondetection of the presence of one or more measurement devices 108, themobile computing device 104 may display the availability of themeasurement devices 108 to the user via the user interface 106.

The user may indicate to the mobile computing device 104 the particularmeasurement device 108 or devices that should be linked to the mobilecomputing device 104 for communication of measurement data. For example,in at least one implementation, the user may press particular buttons onthe mobile computing device 104 that are associated with the availablemeasurement devices 108. As another example, the user may touchparticular text or icons on the user interface 106 presented on atouchscreen of the mobile computing device 104 to indicate a desire tolink the mobile computing device 104 with the measurement devices 108.In response to such user indication, the mobile computing device 104establishes communication links with the indicated measurement devices108, e.g., by responding to the presence detect signal that isperiodically sent by the measurement devices 108. The measurementdevices 108 and the mobile computing device 104 may exchangeconfiguration information that allows for exclusive or nonexclusivecommunication of measurement data from the measurement devices 108. Inyet other embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 may automaticallyestablish communication links with all measurement devices 108 that itdetects.

Next, at block 508, a measurement collection engine 214 of the mobilecomputing device 104 receives measurement data from the one or moreselected measurement devices 108. In some embodiments, the measurementdata may be received via a network or wireless protocol of thecommunication link. In some embodiments, the measurement data may bereceived via other means. As nonlimiting examples, in some embodiments,the measurement data may be received by exchanging a tangiblecomputer-readable medium between the mobile computing device 104 and ameasurement device 108, by manual entry of the measurement data into themobile computing device 104 by the technician, by capturing an image ofthe measurement device 108 using a camera of the mobile computing device104, and/or using any other suitable technique. The measurement data mayinclude a single value representing a property of the DUT 92 at a giventime, or may include multiple values representing a time series ofvalues representing a property of the DUT 92 over a period of time. Atblock 510, the measurement collection engine 214 records a set ofreceived measurement data in a measurement data store 220. The set ofreceived measurement data may include a single reading from a singlesensor 330, multiple readings from a single sensor 330, or one or morereadings from multiple sensors 330.

The method 500 then proceeds to block 512, where a measurementprocessing engine 216 of the mobile computing device 104 annotates therecorded set of measurement data in the measurement data store 220 withmetadata. In some embodiments, the metadata used to annotate therecorded set of measurement data may include information describingwhen, where, and how the information was collected including, but notlimited to: a timestamp; a GPS location (or a location obtained usingother positioning technology) of the mobile computing device 104 and/orthe measurement device 108; an equipment identifier that either uniquelyidentifies the DUT 92 or identifies a type or model of the DUT 92; anidentifier of the measurement device 108; a record of settings of themeasurement device 108; the particular test point or points on the DUT92; a work order, task list, or job instruction that directed thecollection of the measurement data; an identity of the techniciancollecting the measurement data; a text note; a voice note; an image; avideo; an image annotation; and/or the like. In some instances, the DUT92 may be labeled with human perceptible data, such as on a sticker,hang tag, or the like, that identifies the particular equipment. Thetechnician may enter the equipment identity into the mobile computingdevice 104 based on the labeled data. In other instances, the DUT 92 maybe labeled with a machine readable code, such as a barcode, a QR code,or a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, that the technician canscan using the mobile computing device 104. Alternatively or inaddition, the equipment identity and other information may be providedby a barcode or QR code printed on a work order delivered to thetechnician conducting the equipment measurements. The equipment identitycorresponding to the scanned code can then be automatically stored inthe metadata of the measurement data that is automatically beingassociated in a particular data group.

In some embodiments, the metadata used to annotate the recorded set ofmeasurement data may include group identifying information. The groupidentifying information may associate the recorded set of measurementdata with other recorded sets of measurement data, and this associationmay then be used to display or otherwise process the grouped setsmeasurement data together. In some embodiments, the group identifyinginformation may include one or more group identifiers that may beautomatically associated with the recorded set of measurement data. Inat least one implementation, the mobile computing device 104 mayassociate measurement data into a group based on an element that iscommon to the metadata of each received data measurement, such as timeinformation that reflects when the data was measured. For example,measurement data that is captured simultaneously or near in time to eachother, such as within a predetermined amount of time of each other, fromvarious measurement devices 108 may automatically be grouped into asingle data group, and the data group may be associated with aparticular test point or group of test points of the DUT 92. Theidentity of the test point or group of test points may be supplied bythe user, either before, during, or after receipt of the measurementdata. In other implementations, the identity of the test point or groupof test points may automatically be obtained from the DUT 92, from themeasurement devices 108, or from the mobile computing device 104 orother devices. For example, a GPS circuit in a measurement device 108may provide location data that can be included with or otherwiseassociated with the measurement data being transmitted to the mobilecomputing device 104. In some cases, the location data may be associatedin a memory or other storage device with one or more test points. Thelocation data may be used (e.g., as an index or keyword for look up in atable) to identify particular test points associated with the location,either in the measurement devices 108 or in the mobile computing device104.

For example, multiple sets of measurement data taken with differentmeasurement devices 108 of the same DUT 92 (such as visual images,infrared images, and/or thermal images captured by a camera or thermalimager, electrical measurements such as voltage, current, or impedancemeasurements captured by a DMM, and measurement of mechanical parameterssuch as vibration or pressure captured by portable sensors, and/or thelike) obtained at substantially the same time (such as, for example,within a few seconds or minutes of each other) may be grouped togetherto be displayed and/or analyzed as part of a single test. Said groupingmay also be based on group identifying information specified by thetechnician or on some other piece of common metadata other than thetimestamp. For example, measurement data captured within a predetermineddistance of each other as determined by a positioning system may begrouped together.

As another example, sets of measurement data taken of different DUTs 92that are the same type of equipment (such as, for example, two differentunits of the same model of a motor) may be grouped together to providecomparisons between multiple separate units. The mobile computing device104 may also be configured to receive text, capture an image, or recordaudio or video initiated by the technician, such as a voice comment ortext annotation of measurement data or as a recording of equipmentappearance or sound, and associate such text, image, or audio/videorecordings with the measurement data in a particular group. As yetanother example, a technician may provide commentary on observations ofthe DUT 92 at the time the measurement data is obtained. Such commentarymay be received from the technician before, during, or after the datameasurements occur. By saving the user-initiated text or audio/videorecordings with metadata that is held in common with the measurementdata, the text or audio/video recordings may likewise be associated inthe same group with the measurement data.

A feature of the present disclosure is that group identifyinginformation may be generated either before, during, or after themeasurement data is obtained. In instances where measurement data iscaptured before the group identifying information is generated, themeasurement data may automatically be associated in a group according toparameters such as the time or location when the data is measured ortransmitted.

Automatically generated groups may be presented to the technician with aprompt for the technician to confirm the automatically generatedinformation or to supply further group identifying information. Thetechnician can input information pertaining to the group and have theinformation stored in the metadata. For example, the technician mayenter information regarding the measured equipment and have the identityof the equipment stored with the measurement data in the group. In someembodiments, the technician manually inputs the identity of the measuredequipment. In other embodiments, the mobile computing device 104 maydisplay a list of previously identified equipment and allow thetechnician to select the equipment being measured. If the equipmentbeing measured is not included in the displayed list, the technician mayinitiate a prompt on the mobile computing device 104 that allows thetechnician to create a new equipment identity and store the equipmentidentity in the list for later retrieval when the equipment is againbeing measured. In yet other embodiments, the mobile computing device104 may receive or sense location data (e.g., through a GPS reading orother positioning technology) and automatically provide a list of knownequipment associated with the location data, from which the techniciancan select the equipment record matching the DUT 92. In still otherembodiments, the mobile computing device 104 may automatically generatea group based on work order data, either by grouping all measurementsgathered while processing a work order, by obtaining equipmentidentifiers using the work order data, and/or using any other suitabletechnique.

Next, the method 500 proceeds to a decision block 514, where adetermination is made regarding whether more devices remain to betested. If the result of the determination at decision block 514 is YES,the method 500 proceeds to terminal A, and the actions discussed withrespect to blocks 502 through 514 are repeated for the next device to betested. Otherwise, if the result of the determination at decision block514 is NO, the method 500 proceeds to an end block and terminates.

In various embodiments, data groups that have been generated by themobile computing device 104 may be presented to the user in a variety offormats for viewing, analyzing, and reporting. For example, a textualdescription of a data group or a visual graph of measurement data in thedata group may be shown to the user. In instances where a data groupincludes a large amount of measurement data, the user may be presentedwith a small portion or short description of the measurement data with aprompt that the user may select to receive additional detail regardingthe data measurements in the group. If desired, the user may divide themeasurement data in a data group into two or more smaller data groups.Information that distinguishes the two or more smaller groups is storedin the metadata of the data measurements pertaining to the smallergroups.

By automatically associating data into data groups, an improved processis provided for easily organizing and presenting the measurement data tothe user in a clear, straightforward, and visual manner. The measurementdata is packaged and/or formatted in a way that makes it easy for theuser and others to analyze the data in the different data groups andevaluate the status of the equipment being measured.

In some embodiments, the system 100 disclosed herein may be particularlyuseful for large organizations that have a desire to monitor orotherwise measure a large number of units of equipment, or to monitor orotherwise measure a large number of properties of a given unit ofequipment. Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosurefurther provide a unified data collection and reporting interface forequipment being measured. These embodiments include processes forcollecting data from disparate measurement devices positioned to obtainmeasurements of equipment in one or more locations, storing themeasurement data in one or more associated data structures, andreporting the measurement data in a unified display.

One example of a unified display is a single, scrollable “equipmentpage” presented by the user interface engine 212 that is associated withparticular equipment and provides a view of the measurement datacaptured and/or processed with regard to the equipment. By storing anddisplaying disparate data collected with regard to a given unit or typeof equipment on a single page, a user is able to evaluate bothhistorical data and presently measured data, observe trends in the data,determine the status of the equipment, and predict future maintenanceneeds of the equipment. Such analysis may be conducted by a technicianon site with the equipment or by management personnel and/or experts atremote locations that have access to the unified data collection andreporting interface for the equipment.

In some cases, it may be helpful to a user to compare the measurementdata of particular equipment to the measurement data of similarequipment in other locations, particularly if the health status of theother equipment has already been established. Equipment pages forinstallations of similar equipment may be displayed in a manner (e.g.,side-by side or picture-in-picture) that facilitates comparison of themeasurement data obtained from a DUT 92 to overall trends shown in otherinstallations of similar equipment. Comparing the DUT 92 with similarequipment in other locations may facilitate evaluation of a healthstatus of the DUT 92.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary method 600 ofprocessing measurement data for multiple units of equipment to generatea unified data collection and reporting interface according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. From a start block, the method 600proceeds to block 602, where measurement data is transmitted to andstored by a measurement data store 406 of a measurement processingserver 102. The measurement data stored in block 602 representsmeasurements collected from one or more units of equipment. In someembodiments, the measurement data may have been collected using a methodsimilar to the method illustrated in FIG. 5 and discussed above, thoughin other embodiments, any other suitable method may be used to obtainthe measurement data. Next, at block 604, the measurement processingserver 102 stores annotations for the measurement data to link themeasurement data to one or more equipment records in an equipment datastore 408. In some embodiments, the annotation that links themeasurement data to one or more equipment records may be an equipmentidentifier that uniquely identifies an equipment record in the equipmentdata store 408, and may be added along with the rest of the metadatastored with the measurement data. One of ordinary skill in the art mayconsider the actions described above in blocks 602-604 as providing thesystem 100 with historical measurement data for use in creating theunified data collection and reporting interface as described below.

Once the system 100 has obtained some historical measurement data forequipment to be compared to the DUT 92, a unified data collection andreporting interface may be generated by the system 100. Accordingly, themethod 600 proceeds to block 606, where a mobile computing device 104 isconnected to one or more measurement devices 108 configured to collectmeasurement data from one or more DUT 92, as described above. Next, atblock 608, a user interface engine 212 of the mobile computing device104 receives an indication of an equipment identifier associated withthe DUT 92. The equipment identifier may be provided in ahuman-perceptible form on a name plate, hang tag, sticker, label, and/orthe like attached to the DUT 92. In some embodiments, the equipmentidentifier may be entered into the mobile computing device 104 by manualentry, by scanning of text on the DUT 92, by scanning a bar code or QRcode label, and/or by any other suitable technique, similar to thetechniques discussed above. Meanwhile, in other embodiments, theequipment identifier may be determined by the technician selectingequipment matching the DUT 92 from the unified data collection andreporting interface presented by the user interface engine 212.

Production plants, factories, facilities, etc., typically have multipleinstallations of equipment of a given type at different locations. Theunified data collection and reporting interfaces for different equipmentinstallations may be organized in the mobile device and in remote dataprocessing centers to enable a technician to quickly identify and selectparticular equipment for viewing of the corresponding interface. Invarious embodiments, attributes such as equipment name, type, location,and status may be used to distinguish different installations ofequipment. The unified data collection and reporting interfaces for thedifferent equipment installations may include such equipment attributes.The equipment attributes may be displayed to facilitate useridentification and selection of a desired installation of equipment.

For example, the location of equipment may be identified by a textualdescription of the equipment's surroundings. Alternatively or inaddition, graphical depictions illustrating the location of theequipment relative to its surroundings may be provided. For example, amap showing a floor plan of a factory or facility having multipleequipment installations may be shown with icons representing particularequipment installations within the factory or facility. The icons may bepositioned within an image of the floor plan to illustrate therespective locations of the equipment. In instances where the map islarger than the available area on the display, the depiction of the mapmay be scrollable in one or more dimensions to enable easy access to thecomplete floor plan map.

In some embodiments, the map may be a formal illustration of a floorplan. In other embodiments, the map may be a hand drawn sketch generatedby a technician and saved in the unified data collection and reportinginterface for the equipment. The image of the floor plan may be, forexample, a photograph of a sketch or formal illustration on paper, or itmay be a sketch drawn directly onto the screen of the display. Images ofthe equipment stored in the unified data collection and reportinginterface for the equipment may further facilitate identification of theparticular equipment. Depicting a floor plan map or other graphicalimage of equipment surroundings may help a technician to physically findparticular equipment. Accordingly, a technician sent to measure datawith regard to particular equipment may be guided when attempting tolocate the equipment on site.

In some embodiments, the map data may include GPS or other positioninginformation. In such embodiments, a mobile computing device 104 capableof receiving or generating GPS data may superimpose an icon onto adepiction of the map indicating the position of the mobile computingdevice 104 relative to equipment and other surroundings in the map. Suchdepictions may further guide a technician sent to measure data withregard to particular equipment.

A technician may also use map data to identify particular equipment thatthe technician is seeking to evaluate. For example, in at least oneembodiment, a graphical map may be displayed to the technician showingvarious equipment installations. The technician can then touch or clicka mapped location on the display to select particular equipment at thatlocation. Selection of the particular equipment causes the equipmentidentifier for that equipment to be selected.

Alternatively or in addition to graphically depicting a map showingequipment installations, a mobile computing device 104 may display alisting of building areas or room types (potentially organized in ahierarchy) that enables a technician to identify and select particularequipment for evaluation. An exemplary embodiment may provide a list ofbuilding areas, such as basement, floor, wall, or roof, that areassociated with the locations of different equipment. Upon selection ofa building area, the mobile computing device 104 may further display amore detailed list of rooms or locations within the selected buildingarea. Upon selection of a room or location within the building area, thetechnician may then be provided a listing of equipment in the selectedroom or location. Eventually, the technician is able to identify andselect particular equipment based on its relative location in thebuilding, and thereby select the equipment identifier to be used.

Another exemplary embodiment may provide a listing of room types, suchas boiler room, machine room, assembly floor, laboratory, office, and/orthe like, where equipment is located. Upon selection of a room type, themobile computing device 104 may further display a more detailed list ofrooms that match the selected room type. Thereafter, upon selection of aparticular room, the technician may be provided a listing of equipmentin the selected room. The technician may then identify and selectparticular equipment from the list. Selection of particular equipmentfrom the list causes the equipment identifier for that equipment to beused. In some embodiments, the map information, the locations ofequipment, and/or the like may be stored in the facility data store 404and obtained therefrom by the mobile computing device 104.

Once the equipment identifier is obtained, the method 600 proceeds toblock 610, where the user interface engine 212 submits a request forequipment information associated with the equipment identifier to themeasurement processing server 102. At block 612, the measurementprocessing server 102 transmits an equipment record associated with theequipment identifier to the mobile computing device 104.

At block 614, the measurement processing server 102 transmits storedmeasurement data associated with the equipment record to the mobilecomputing device 104. Once the mobile computing device 104 has receivedthe stored measurement data and/or the equipment record, the method 600proceeds to block 616, where the user interface engine 212 presents aunified data collection and reporting interface for the DUT 92 using theequipment record and the stored measurement data.

In various embodiments, the unified data collection and reportinginterface for particular equipment may be configured to presentreference documents stored in the equipment record that are helpful tothe technician and others. For example, the equipment record may holdsafety manuals or maintenance guidelines that the technician and otherscan access while operating the equipment, making measurements, orevaluating measurement data. In addition, work orders pertaining to theequipment and subsequent reports may be stored in the equipment recordfor later access.

In various embodiments, the unified data collection and reportinginterface for particular equipment may also be configured to present thestored measurement data, either by itself or side-by-side with a currentmeasurement value. For example, the interface may present a graph thatshows trends in a measurement value over time for a given DUT 92, or forall similar measurement values collected from equipment of the sameequipment type, and may also present the current measurement value forcomparison. In various embodiments, the interface for particularequipment may also include features such as a status bar that quicklyillustrates the current status of the equipment. For example, a greenstatus bar may indicate equipment in good maintenance condition, while ayellow or red status bar may indicate equipment needing furtherattention. The status may be updated by a technician, or may beautomatically determined by comparing a current measurement value orvalues to the stored measurement data or to acceptable values stored inthe equipment record. The interface may include images of the equipmenttaken before, during, or after measurement data is obtained. Images ofthe equipment obtained over time may be compared to identify changesindicative of future maintenance needs. If desired, a tool may beprovided in which a previously obtained image of the equipment issuperimposed on an image to be taken or presented side-by-side with animage to be taken, allowing the technician to align the two images,which facilitates later comparison of the images. In some embodiments,the tool may also provide the ability to compare two previously obtainedimages for comparison to each other, either in a side-by-sidepresentation or superimposed on one another. In some embodiments, thetool may provide the ability to provide a side-by-side or superimposedcomparison of images of different units of equipment. The interface mayinclude collections of measurement data organized into groups asdescribed above. A technician viewing the equipment page for particularequipment may select one or more of the data groups for further viewingand analysis.

When providing measurement data for viewing and analysis, the unifieddata collection and reporting interface may automatically provide graphsof the measurement data collected over time. Alternatively or inaddition, data captured at a particular instance of time may bedisplayed as a static numerical value. Image data stored in themeasurement data store 406 or equipment data store 408 may be displayedas images in the interface. Such images may be shown along with graphsand/or static numerical values of other measurement data to enable abroader, holistic view of the equipment. As will be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art, when image data is discussed herein, saidimage data may include visible light image data, infrared image data, orany other suitable type of image data whether in a visible lightspectrum or not.

Once the user has finished interacting with the unified data collectionand reporting interface, the method 600 proceeds to an end block andterminates.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configurable to automaticallygenerate reports in formats other than the unified data collection andreporting interface as well. For example, in some embodiments the mobilecomputing device 104, the measurement processing server 102, or someother computing device associated with the system 100 may include areport definition. The report definition may include measurements to bereported in a particular format, such as a regulatory form and/or thelike. Upon collection of measurements to be entered in the form, thesystem 100 may automatically generate a report in the format indicatedin the report definition, and may provide the report for submission to aregulatory agency, for storage in a record associated with the DUT,and/or the like.

The present disclosure further provides automated processes forproviding a combined display of measurement data that represents relatedparts of a combined measurement. In some cases, the combined measurementmay be a multiphase parameter and the related parts of the combinedmeasurement are the component phases of the multiphase parameter. Amultiphase parameter may comprise multiple components that differ fromone another according to a phase of the respective component. Oneexample of a multiphase parameter is three-phase power in a three-phasepower system.

As discussed above, in one example the mobile computing device 104 mayreceive measurement data from a plurality of current-sensing and/orvoltage-sensing measurement devices 108 and establish communicationconnections with each of the measurement devices 108. The mobilecomputing device 104 may receive the measurement data from themeasurement devices 108 during an overlapping time interval, asrecognized by a timestamp or other time information associated with themeasurement data indicating when the measurement data was generated bythe measurement devices 108 and/or received by the mobile computingdevice 104. Such time information may indicate a time proximity when themeasurement data was generated by the measurement devices 108. In viewof this time information, the mobile computing device 104 mayautomatically associate, or group together, such measurement data asdiscussed above in greater detail.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the mobile computing device104 may further consider such time information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurementand automatically display the grouped measurement data in a combineddisplay of the measurement data that shares at least one axis ofmeasurement. In at least one embodiment, the combined display may be agraph depicting the measurement data sharing at least one axis ofmeasurement. Typical axes of measurement are time and magnitude.

For example, the mobile computing device 104 may establish communicationconnections with three current-sensing or three voltage-sensingmeasurement devices 108 and simultaneously receive measurement data fromthe measurement devices. Based on time information associated with themeasurement data, the mobile computing device 104 may not only group themeasurement data together but interpret the measurement data asrepresenting component parts of a three-phase power signal, where themeasurement data from each measurement device 108 represents aparticular phase of the power signal.

Instead of displaying three separate graphs of the measurement data(i.e., a separate graph with separate axes of measurement for themeasurement data from each of the three measurement devices), as may bedone with conventional systems, the mobile computing device 104 of thepresent disclosure is configured to automatically generate and present asingle graph displaying the current or voltage measurements of the threephases together, without requiring user input to cause preparation ofsuch a graph. In some cases, the combined display of the measurementdata may share at least two axes of measurement. In cases where thecombined display provides a graph of the measurement data, the displayof each set of measurement data may be superimposed on one another inthe graph using, for example, magnitude and time as the shared axes ofmeasurement. By superimposing the measurement data in a combined graphwith at least two shared axes of measurement, the magnitude and phaserelationships between the different components of the multiphaseparameter are more easily observed.

As another example of a combined measurement, the mobile computingdevice 104 may receive multiple temperature measurements frommeasurement devices 108 placed in an HVAC system. The measurementdevices 108 may be configured to measure the temperature of differentparts of the HVAC system, such as the burner, flue, or air duct, etc. Byreceiving and evaluating the measurement data from the measurementdevices 108 in a combined display as discussed above, a user of themobile computing device 104 may assess the health of the HVAC system bylooking at relationships between the multiple temperature measurements.For example, one may expect the flue temperature of the HVAC system totrack with changes in the boiler temperature. A too-rapid rise in theair duct temperature after a rise in the burner temperature may indicatea crack in the heat exchanger, while a too-slow rise in the air ducttemperature might indicate a blockage. By automatically grouping themultiple temperature measurements together as a combined measurement forthe HVAC system, the health of the HVAC system may be more easilyassessed. Similar considerations may be given to other systems in whichmultiple measurements of equipment in the systems may be consideredrelated parts of a combined measurement and the measurement data may beautomatically grouped together for a combined display, in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart that illustrates an exemplary method 700 forautomatically generating a combined display of measurement datarepresenting a combined measurement. As a first step at block 702, thecommunication interface 224 of a mobile computing device 104 establishescommunication connections with a plurality of measurement devices 108.Next, at block 704, a measurement collection engine 214 of the mobilecomputing device 104 receives measurement data from the plurality ofmeasurement devices. At this point, the mobile computing device 104 isconfigured to evaluate available information that may indicate that themeasurement data represents related parts of a combined measurement, asindicated at decision block 706.

As one example described above, information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurementmay include time information indicating proximity of time when themeasurement data was generated by the plurality of measurement devices.In particular, the time information may indicate that the measurementdata was generated by the measurement devices during an overlapping timeinterval. Simultaneous generation of measurement data by multiplemeasurement devices, particularly when measuring the same parameter, maybe interpreted as indicating a combined measurement, such as ameasurement of a multiphase parameter.

As another example, information indicative of the measurement datarepresenting related parts of a combined measurement may includelocation information indicating proximity of location where themeasurement data was generated by the plurality of measurement devices.In particular, the location information may indicate that themeasurement data was generated by the measurement devices at anequipment test point. The mobile computing device may automaticallyinterpret the proximity of location of the measurement devices asmeasuring the same test point of the equipment, wherein each measurementdevice is sensing a related part of the combined measurement, such as aparticular phase of a multiphase parameter.

In contrast to conventional systems that display different sets ofmeasurement data in separate graphs and require careful manipulation ofthe data by a user in order to join the different sets of measurementdata into a single graph, the present disclosure provides a method,system, and computer-readable medium in which a combined display ofmeasurement data representing a combined measurement is automaticallypresented in a combined display. In some embodiments, the combineddisplay may be a graph that graphically depicts the measurement data. Inother embodiments, the combined display may be a numerical or othernon-graphical display. In any event, a combined display advantageouslyfacilitates faster evaluation of the measurement data when themeasurement data represents a combined measurement, such as a multiphaseparameter.

For example, in a three-phase power system as described above, themobile computing device 104 of the present disclosure can detect receiptof multiple current or voltage measurements and interpret the current orvoltage measurements as representing measurements of the same test pointof a three-phase power system. Accordingly, the mobile computing device104, or other computing device in the system, can automatically producea combined display of the three-phase measurement data as discussedabove.

A user desiring to measure and evaluate the different phases of athree-phase power system need only position the three current or voltagemeasurement devices 108 with regard to the component parts of thethree-phase power system being measured and establish communicationconnections between the mobile computing device 104 and the measurementdevices 108. The mobile computing device 104 receives the measurementdata from the measurement devices 108 and, as described above,automatically generates and presents a combined display, such as a graphproviding a graphical depiction of the three different phases. This isparticularly useful, for example, when the user desires to quicklyevaluate whether a load placed on a three-phase power system isbalanced.

Returning to FIG. 7, if the mobile computing device 104 determines thatthe measurement data represents related parts of a combined measurement,the measurement processing engine 216 of the mobile computing device 104automatically groups the measurement data, as indicated at block 708.The grouped measurement data is then processed and provided to theinput/output interface 222 as indicated at block 710, for automaticallydisplaying the grouped measurement data in a combined display thatshares at least one axis of measurement, as described above.

While embodiments of systems and methods have been illustrated anddescribed in the foregoing description, it will be appreciated thatvarious changes can be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. For example, while embodiments ofthe mobile computing device have been described in the context of asmart phone executing one or more programmed applications, otherembodiments of the mobile computing device may include a handheldmeasurement tool that is additionally capable of measuring properties ofequipment. The measurement devices, as indicated earlier, may includehandheld measurement tools as well as multipurpose and single usesensors that are positioned relative to equipment to be measured.Computer-executable instructions that cause one or more computingdevices to perform processes as described herein may be stored in anontransitory computer readable medium accessible to the one or morecomputing devices. Moreover, it should be understood that rearrangementof structure or steps in the devices or processes described herein thatyield similar results are considered within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is notconstrained by the precise forms that are illustrated for purposes ofexemplifying embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A computer-implementedmethod for automatically generating a combined display of measurementdata, the method comprising: establishing, by a mobile computing device,communication connections with a plurality of measurement devicesconfigured to generate measurement data; receiving, by the mobilecomputing device, measurement data generated by the plurality ofmeasurement devices; and in response to information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurement:automatically grouping the measurement data received from the pluralityof measurement devices; and automatically displaying the groupedmeasurement data in a combined display of the measurement data thatshares at least one axis of measurement.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the combined measurement is a multiphase parameter, and themeasurement data received from each measurement device represents aphase of the multiphase parameter.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein themultiphase parameter is an electrical parameter having at least threecomponent phases.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the combined displayincludes three component phases of a three-phase voltage, current, orpower parameter, and wherein the at least one axis of measurementrepresents time.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the informationindicative of the measurement data representing related parts of acombined measurement includes time information indicating a proximity oftime when the measurement data was generated by the plurality ofmeasurement devices.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the timeinformation indicates that the measurement data was generated by themeasurement devices during an overlapping time interval.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the measurement datarepresenting related parts of a combined measurement includes locationinformation indicating a proximity of location where the measurementdata was generated by the plurality of measurement devices.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the location information indicates that themeasurement data was generated by the measurement devices at anequipment test point.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the combineddisplay of the measurement data shares at least two axes of measurement.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the combined display is a graph ofthe measurement data, and wherein the measurement data received from theplurality of measurement devices are superimposed in the graph using theat least two axes of measurement.
 11. A system for automaticallygenerating a combined display of measurement data, the systemcomprising: a mobile computing device configured to: establishcommunication connections with a plurality of measurement devicesconfigured to generate measurement data; receive measurement datagenerated by the plurality of measurement devices; and in response toinformation indicative of the measurement data representing relatedparts of a combined measurement: automatically group the measurementdata received from the plurality of measurement devices; andautomatically display the grouped measurement data in a combined displayof the measurement data that shares at least one axis of measurement.12. The system of claim 11, wherein the combined measurement is amultiphase parameter, and the measurement data received from eachmeasurement device represents a phase of the multiphase parameter. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the multiphase parameter is anelectrical parameter having at least three component phases.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the combined display includes threecomponent phases of a three-phase voltage, current, or power parameter,and wherein the at least one axis of measurement represents time. 15.The system of claim 11, wherein the information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurementincludes time information indicating a proximity of time when themeasurement data was generated by the plurality of measurement devices.16. The system of claim 15, wherein the time information indicates thatthe measurement data was generated by the measurement devices during anoverlapping time interval.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein theinformation indicative of the measurement data representing relatedparts of a combined measurement includes location information indicatinga proximity of location where the measurement data was generated by theplurality of measurement devices.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinthe location information indicates that the measurement data wasgenerated by the measurement devices at an equipment test point.
 19. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the combined display of the measurement datashares at least two axes of measurement.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the combined display is a graph of the measurement data, andwherein the measurement data received from the plurality of measurementdevices are superimposed in the graph using the at least two axes ofmeasurement.
 21. A nontransitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions stored thereon that, in response toexecution by one or more processors of a mobile computing device, causethe mobile computing device to automatically generate a combined displayof measurement data by: establishing communication connections with aplurality of measurement devices configured to generate measurementdata; receiving measurement data generated by the plurality ofmeasurement devices; and in response to information indicative of themeasurement data representing related parts of a combined measurement:automatically grouping the measurement data received from the pluralityof measurement devices; and automatically displaying the groupedmeasurement data in a combined display of the measurement data thatshares at least one axis of measurement.
 22. The computer-readablemedium of claim 21, wherein the combined measurement is a multiphaseparameter, and the measurement data received from each measurementdevice represents a phase of the multiphase parameter.
 23. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the multiphase parameteris an electrical parameter having at least three component phases. 24.The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the combined displayincludes three component phases of a three-phase voltage, current, orpower parameter, and wherein the at least one axis of measurementrepresents time.
 25. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, whereinthe information indicative of the measurement data representing relatedparts of a combined measurement includes time information indicating aproximity of time when the measurement data was generated by theplurality of measurement devices.
 26. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 25, wherein the time information indicates that the measurementdata was generated by the measurement devices during an overlapping timeinterval.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein theinformation indicative of the measurement data representing relatedparts of a combined measurement includes location information indicatinga proximity of location where the measurement data was generated by theplurality of measurement devices.
 28. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 27, wherein the location information indicates that themeasurement data was generated by the measurement devices at anequipment test point.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 21,wherein the combined display of the measurement data shares at least twoaxes of measurement.
 30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29,wherein the combined display is a graph of the measurement data, andwherein the measurement data received from the plurality of measurementdevices are superimposed in the graph using the at least two axes ofmeasurement.